Sun Damage Repair

A CBS 2 News Special Assignment

Special Assignment: Sun Damage Repair aired Wednesday, May 06, 1998 at 11 p.m.

Living life in the sun is part of the culture here in Southern California.

"Personally, I'm going to keep tanning," suntan fanatic Linda Petersen told CBS 2 News. "I know it's not good for me, but I like the way it looks."

There are consequences for suntanning, said CBS 2 News' Gretchen Carr. Marilyn Lewis, a former suntanner, paid for those consequences with her skin.

"I talk my daughters, my sons, my grandchildren and anyone else I could get my hands on," said Lewis. "Don't do this to yourself. Look at my face."

Despite the dangers, many continue to expose themselves to the sun's powerful rays. Now another powerful ray is offering people like Lewis a second chance, reported Carr.

So what does it take to get people to stop baking their bodies? You're about to meet some die-hard suntanners, and you'll see what happens when CBS 2 News puts their skin to the test.

Researchers are calling the skin test a wake-up call for suntanners. Using special UV filters, a special sun camera goes deep into the layers of the skin to give suntanners a serious reality check.

"All of these people say, 'Oh my God! What is this? I look too old -- like my grandma,'" Neutrogena researcher Aida Asuncion told CBS 2 News. "If you exposed yourself to the sun when you were younger, that will show with the UV filter."

The spots and wrinkles on Lewis' face are from decades of sun damage, said Carr. Like many people of her generation, she didn't realize that tanning was harmful.

"I would take my bottle of baby oil with me -- a few drops of iodine in it," Lewis told Carr. "We never knew there was anything wrong with being in the sun."

Now, thanks to a laser procedure developed by Dr. Mitchell Goldman, Lewis was able to have some of the damage removed, said Carr. The procedure is called laser facial resurfacing.

First, she gets her picture taken with the sun camera. Then, using three different types of laser, Dr. Goldman literally burns off layer after layer of sun-damaged skin.

"What we'll be doing with the remainder of the procedure is actually tightening all of the wrinkles that she has," Dr. Goldman told CBS 2 News.

Laser resurfacing is one of the most dramatic medical treatments to get rid of sun damage, reported Carr. It's a painful process, and is not recommended for everyone.

So with prevention in mind, experts developed the sun camera. They said if they can give sun worshippers a glimpse into the future, they might be able to prevent more cases of extreme sun damage.

"I've been tanning for over 40-some years,"suntanner Jean Cozy said. "I don't like to lay out in the sun. I can go to a tanning salon and in 20 minutes I'm out."

Cozy told CBS 2 News she uses a tanning bed several times a week.

"I look at my skin -- I'm 53 -- and it hasn't really affected me," Cozy told Carr. "If it was affecting me, I think I wouldn't do it.

Cozy is a perfect candidate for the sun camera test. CBS 2 News accompanied her to a lab for the skin test.

"I don't know what to expect," she told Carr. "I'm excited about seeing what it will be."

Forty years of suntanning has left Cozy with severe sun damage.

"It's scary to think that it can be that damaging," said Cozy, after seeing the results. "I'm shocked. It's unbelievable because you see your skin, but you don't usually see it under a microscope."

Cozy said it was traumatic to see the before and after pictures, and added that she'll now use sunscreen and self-tanning methods.

"Signs of long-term sun damage include thickening of the skin and coarseness and dryness of the skin, and this sort of leathery and elastic look to the skin," Dr. Derek Jones, a dermatologist, told CBS 2 News.

Lewis may adopt some new habits as well, reported Carr. Her laser surgery was performed on April 15. Although it's only been four weeks since the surgery, many of the spots were gone and the lines diminished.

Doctors said there's no such thing as a safe tan, and that wearing sunscreen every day is still your best defense against sun damage.

More information:

• The Virginia Tech University Student Health Services Sun Information Page answers questions about tanning beds, the best sunglasses to buy and other FAQs about tanning safely.
• Suntanning.com is a page dedicated to the benefits of tanning.